After five years on the waitlist, my Dad got season tickets for the Cubs in 2011. I was still in Colorado, and he was in Pittsburgh. We met in the middle for a few games, then 2015 happened.
The Cubs made their first playoffs since 2008. The Cubs played the Pirates in a one-game playoff in Pittsburgh. I flew out and stayed with my parents for the game.
Jake Arrieta threw a nine inning shutout, and my Dad and I were shocked to have our Cubs actually advance in the playoffs.
The Cubs built on their 2015 season to create the magical 2016 season. My parents moved back to the Chicago-area the same year. Although he was finally able to use his tickets, he still sold most of them. When the Cubs made the World Series, he insisted on going. He and I saw every Cubs home game.
The first two games were hard to experience, reminding us of our Cubs of old. But Game 5 was a wonderful night. Aroldis Chapman ground his way through a multiple inning save and kept our dreams alive.
I moved to Illinois in 2021, but he ended up selling his season tickets as he was not making enough money off of the games due to the Cubs performance. We would talk each Sunday about the Cubs. This year, he was beginning to doubt the Cubs’ ability to make the playoffs.
He passed in August. I will never see another Cubs game with my Dad.
My first memory of Wrigley Field was my Dad taking me out of school to see the Cubs home opener. I must have only been 10 or 11. My Dad had a perfect attendance record when he was in elementary school, and him willing to take me to a baseball game and miss school blew my mind. I had always seen him as a rule follower.
Later that year, I had woken up late and missed the school bus. Both my parents were working, and my brother was in middle school. I sat in my parent’s bedroom, scared of the trouble I was going to be in. I heard the school leave a voicemail saying I was absent. I knew I was in trouble, but figured the punishment would be less if I called my Dad instead of staying home alone all day.
My Dad had to drive from Chicago to come and pick me up. Only, he wasn’t angry. Instead, he simply smiled and asked if I had breakfast yet. He took me to McDonald’s and got me my favorite, hotcakes, sausage biscuit, and a Hi-C orange drink. He didn’t say anything about my mistake, and wished me a happy day at school.
The compassion he showed me that day changed how I saw him. All I wanted to do was to have kids of my own and make them feel seen and loved.
In the following years, we would go to many Cubs games. My Dad would drive us home through the Chicago traffic and I would fall asleep. I never felt safer. I didn’t have to worry about my own life. I got to see my Cubbies play with someone who loved me.
Thankfully, I have been able to experience the Cubs with many other people I love.
When the Cubs made the playoffs this October, I made a trip back. My Dad wasn’t able to join me, but I treated a friend to a beautiful day at the ballpark.
What more can you ask for?
